From October 31 2009 - February 12 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay "A Path of Northern Lights" will be traveling across Canada. The Olympic Resistance Network, based in Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories,is calling on and encouraging our allies to coordinate efforts in over 2000 communities to oppose and resist the Torch Relay.

On October 31, over 400 people gathered to oppose the Torch Relay launch in Victoria. An Anti-Olympics Festival and Zombie March, organized by No2010 Victoria, succeeded in disrupting the relay. Security personnel were forced to extinguish the torch, load it in a van, and reroute it in order to reach the Legislature. (Visit http://no2010victoria.net/ orhttp://olympicresistance.net/ for videos)

WHY ORGANIZE AGAINST THE TORCH?

The Olympic torch is a propaganda tool that promotes gentrification, repression and environmental destruction. The origins of the Torch Relay lie in the dark history of the 1936 Games in Berlin, where it was devised as a means to spread Nazi fascism and to promote the Third Reich. (See Globe and Mail article here: http://no2010.com/node/1113)

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is a $25 million publicity stunt to promote the Olympic Brand, particularly its top sponsors. The Royal Bank of Canada and Coca Cola are the main sponsors of the 2010 Torch relay. RBC is the top financier of the environmentally devastating Alberta Tar Sands, while Coca Cola has been responsible for health degradation as part of the junkfood industry, massive depletion of ground water and toxic waste pollution in India, and involved in hiring paramilitary groups to violently repress union organizers in Colombia.

It is becoming increasingly evident that far from being simply about sport, the 2010 Olympics is rooted in displacement, corporate greed, militarization, and repression. While Olympic corporate sponsors aregetting bailed out, Indigenous lands are being stolen, more people are becoming homeless, thousands are losing their jobs and access to public services, the environment is being destroyed, and civil liberties are being eroded as over a billion dollars are being sunk into security and surveillance measures.

While people suffer consequences, the public money invested by the city of Vancouver, the city of Whistler, the B.C. government and the Canadian government is now nearing $7 billion. WHAT CAN I DO?

This Torch Relay will be the longest in-country relay in Olympic history,giving us the chance to make some anti-Olympic history! You might be opposing the Torch due to the rally call No Olympics on Stolen Native Land! Remember the Torch does not represent a sacred fire, it is a destructive force. Or you might be protesting the Torch because of the impacts of its corporate sponsors on your community, such as the link between the RBC and Alberta Tar Sands. Or you are generally concerned about the overall negative impacts of the Games such as homelessness, misdirected public spending, attacks on civil liberties, and the general oppression and repression it represents.

There are many reasons and many ways to oppose the Torch, so whatever your reason might be, get out there and be visible! Create a leaflet and make some placards, and you and your group can protest along the Torch route and hand out information to those along the sidelines. You can lead a march to disrupt and detour the relay, as Victoria organizers successfully did without arrests. Set up a blockade through your community and stop the torch from going through and spreading its false propaganda. Hold educational events prior to and after the Torch going through to spread awareness about the impacts of the Olympics (you can contact olympicresistance@riseup.net for educational materials to assist in this).Do whatever makes the most sense for your context; most important is that you organize something!

==> If you are organizing an event or action in your city, town, or community please email us the details at olympicresistance@riseup.net so we can compile the information and build strength and unity in our efforts by having this information available on our website.

It's hard to say how well this bird is going to fly. So far, to my knowledge, there have been public meetings and/or demonstrations in Ontario and Nova Scotia. J'ajoute une chose en français pour Québec. To say the least this is the sort of call that should have been made a long time ago, along with the necessary planning. Flying by the seat of your pants may indeed often work quite well in a local context, but the larger the geographical area the more need of greater organization.